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Register a new userCalculating the Magnetic Anisotropy of Rare-Earth-Transition-Metal Ferrimagnets
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Added by
Christopher Patrick
Publication date
2018
fields
Physics
and research's language is
English
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Magnetocrystalline anisotropy, the microscopic origin of permanent magnetism, is often explained in terms of ferromagnets. However, the best performing permanent magnets based on rare earths and transition metals (RE-TM) are in fact ferrimagnets, consisting of a number of magnetic sublattices. Here we show how a naive calculation of the magnetocrystalline anisotropy of the classic RE-TM ferrimagnet GdCo$_5$ gives numbers which are too large at 0 K and exhibit the wrong temperature dependence. We solve this problem by introducing a first-principles approach to calculate temperature-dependent magnetization vs. field (FPMVB) curves, mirroring the experiments actually used to determine the anisotropy. We pair our calculations with measurements on a recently-grown single crystal of GdCo$_5$, and find excellent agreement. The FPMVB approach demonstrates a new level of sophistication in the use of first-principles calculations to understand RE-TM magnets.
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Magneto-optical spectroscopy in fields up to 30 Tesla reveals anomalies in the equilibrium and ultrafast magnetic properties of the ferrimagnetic rare-earth-transition metal alloy TbFeCo. In particular, in the vicinity of the magnetization compensation temperature, each of the magnetizations of the antiferromagnetically coupled Tb and FeCo sublattices show triple hysteresis loops. Contrary to state-of-the-art theory, which explains such loops by sample inhomogeneities, here we show that they are an intrinsic property of the rare-earth ferrimagnets. Assuming that the rare-earth ions are paramagnetic and have a non-zero orbital momentum in the ground state and, therefore, a large magnetic anisotropy, we are able to reproduce the experimentally observed behavior in equilibrium. The same theory is also able to describe the experimentally observed critical slowdown of the spin dynamics in the vicinity of the magnetization compensation temperature, emphasizing the role played by the orbital momentum in static and ultrafast magnetism of ferrimagnets.
Since the discovery of graphene, two-dimensional materials with atomic level thickness have rapidly grown to be a prosperous field of physical science with interdisciplinary interests, for their fascinating properties and broad applications. Very recently, the experimental observation of ferromagnetism in Cr$_2$Ge$_2$Te$_6$ bilayer and CrI$_3$ monolayer opened a door to pursuit long-absent intrinsic magnetic orders in two-dimensional materials. Meanwhile, the ferroelectricity was also experimentally found in SnTe monolayer and CuInP$_2$S$_6$ few layers. The emergence of these ferroic orders in the two-dimensional limit not only brings new challenges to our physical knowledge, but also provides more functionalities for potential applications. Among various two-dimensional ferroic ordered materials, transition/rare-earth metal halides and their derivants are very common. In this Research Update, based on transition/rare-earth metal halides, the physics of various ferroic orders in two-dimensional will be illustrated. The potential applications based on their magnetic and polar properties will also be discussed.
We present an investigation into the intrinsic magnetic properties of the compounds YCo5 and GdCo5, members of the RETM5 class of permanent magnets (RE = rare earth, TM = transition metal). Focusing on Y and Gd provides direct insight into both the TM magnetization and RE-TM interactions without the complication of strong crystal field effects. We synthesize single crystals of YCo5 and GdCo5 using the optical floating zone technique and measure the magnetization from liquid helium temperatures up to 800 K. These measurements are interpreted through calculations based on a Greens function formulation of density-functional theory, treating the thermal disorder of the local magnetic moments within the coherent potential approximation. The rise in the magnetization of GdCo5 with temperature is shown to arise from a faster disordering of the Gd magnetic moments compared to the antiferromagnetically aligned Co sublattice. We use the calculations to analyze the different Curie temperatures of the compounds and also compare the molecular (Weiss) fields at the RE site with previously published neutron scattering experiments. To gain further insight into the RE-TM interactions, we perform substitutional doping on the TM site, studying the compounds RECo4.5Ni0.5, RECo4Ni, and RECo4.5Fe0.5. Both our calculations and experiments on powdered samples find an increased/decreased magnetization with Fe/Ni doping, respectively. The calculations further reveal a pronounced dependence on the location of the dopant atoms of both the Curie temperatures and the Weiss field at the RE site.
As Eu and Gd are zero-orbital-momentum ($L=0$) rare-earth atoms, their crystalline intermetallic alloys illustrate the connection between electron bands and magnetic anisotropy. Here we find out-of-plane anisotropy in 2D atom-thick EuAu$_2$ by X-ray magnetic circular dichroism. Angle-resolved photoemission and density-functional theory prove that this is due to strong $f-d$ band hybridization and Eu$^{2+}$ valence. In contrast, the in-plane anisotropy of the structurally-equivalent GdAu$_2$ is ruled by spin-orbit-split $d$-bands, notably Weyl nodal lines, occupied in the Gd$^{3+}$ state. Irrespectively of $L$, we predict a similar itinerant electron contribution to the anisotropy of analogous compounds.
Computational design of more efficient rare earth/transition metal (RE-TM) permanent magnets requires accurately calculating the magnetocrystalline anisotropy (MCA) at finite temperature, since this property places an upper bound on the coercivity. Here, we present a first-principles methodology to calculate the MCA of RE-TM magnets which fully accounts for the effects of temperature on the underlying electrons. The itinerant electron TM magnetism is described within the disordered local moment picture, and the localized RE-4f magnetism is described within crystal field theory. We use our model, which is free of adjustable parameters, to calculate the MCA of the RCo$_5$ (R=Y, La-Gd) magnet family for temperatures 0--600 K. We correctly find a huge uniaxial anisotropy for SmCo$_5$ (21.3 MJm$^{-3}$ at 300 K) and two finite temperature spin reorientation transitions for NdCo$_5$. The calculations also demonstrate dramatic valency effects in CeCo$_5$ and PrCo$_5$. Our calculations provide quantitative, first-principles insight into several decades of RE-TM experimental studies.
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